Is it safe to handle a wild animal with bare hands?

So, you discover that some kind of wild animal is in your home and is either hurt or has gotten in some kind of situation where you could easily grab it to remove it from your home. Before you even attempt to do this let us be the first to tell you STOP! You do not dare take any action on a wild animal like this without properly protecting yourself. This is the first lesson that you need to learn.

Whether you are talking about removing a dead animal from your home, and injured one, or one small enough for you to grab and get out, you need to understand that it is never safe to handle any wild animals with your bare hands. Let’s start with the most obvious reason of all. Any kind of wild animal if it is alive, even if it is injured, will attempt to scratch or biting you should you try to grab it. This can lead to some very serious issues for you, including the spread of diseases into your bloodstream coming from the saliva or the skin of the wild animal. Not only can these animals do you serious harm should they bite or claw you, but you simply can’t take the risk to your health of the diseases that they can spread.

In addition, you can get illnesses simply by touching a wild animal. They do not need to scratch or bite you it all, because there are bacteria and viruses that can be found on the skin of the animal itself. All you have to do is grab the animal with your bare hands and you are risking the bacteria getting onto yourself. This can cause severe problems for you.

You also have to consider that if an animal is hurt or has died that parasites and pathogens may be exposed to you through some kind of injury or through an open wound. To be honest with you, you actually are at greater risk by the animal having some kind of cut then you are simply touching the outside of it skin. It is more likely that parasites and diseases are living with in the body of the animal, and by coming in direct contact with its blood you are putting yourself at risk.

You must never touch a wild animal in less you have gloves on. This is an absolute necessity. You also should never touch an animal that is living, even if it is severely hurt. You are putting yourself at risk that the animal may turn on you and bite or scratch you. Even with the most durable and sturdy gloves on, some animals are able to bite through the material and get into your skin. You soon can find yourself contracting such things as rabies or some other kind of very serious illness, that could be life-threatening to you in the long run. This simply is not worth it.
Read more: Florida Wildlife Control